1. Summary of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for tuning the strings of a musical instrument. More particularly, the invention relates to gearless tuners which allow for easy installation and tuning of the strings of the instrument.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous mechanisms have been utilized in the prior art for adjusting the strings of musical instruments to proper tension. Many of these tuning machines utilize gear arrangements for transferring the rotational motion from a tuning peg to a string retaining member. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,388 describes a string anchoring and trimming device in which a tuning peg 104 is coupled to a string barrel 105 through a worm gear. Devices such as this are subject to difficulties in attaching the string, and tuning of the string may be less accurate due to the interface of the worm gear.
Gearless tuners have also been known in the prior art. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 265,693, filed Nov. 1, 1988 by the same inventor as the present application, describes a tuning machine to which a string may be rapidly attached and quickly tuned while simultaneously shearing off excess string from the free end thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,132 to Lowe discloses a tuning peg in which the string is attached to an axially movable slider, wrapped around the slider one or more times and placed in a groove in the top of the slider. The slider is then moved along the axis of a screw into a housing in the instrument to tension the string. Both of the above-described tuners may be easily installed into the musical instrument. However, in both cases, the main components of the tuning machine must be disassembled in order to install the machine on the instrument. Also, with the device of Lowe, the string must be wound around the slider, which takes some additional time and effort.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a tuner for a stringed musical instrument which may be quickly and easily installed on the instrument, and in which the main components may be preassembled without the need for substantial disassembly during installation.
It is an additional object of the invention to rapidly secure a plain string of an instrument to a tuner without substantially deforming the string.
It is a further object of the invention to easily secure a wound string of an instrument in a tuner with increased pinching of the string.
It is a further object of the invention to quickly attach a string of an instrument to a tuner and tune the string without the need for cutting or breaking excess string from the tuner.
A still further object of the invention is to rapidly install a tuning machine in a preexisting hole on a guitar neck.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.